The biggest player by far on the London route is Dubai-based Emirates, which operates five flights a day from Heathrow and a further three daily departures from Gatwick. In addition, the carrier has a double daily service from both Birmingham and Manchester, and a daily flight from Glasgow, making a total of 91 a week from the UK. It uses a
mixture of Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s.

British Airways has a double daily service out of Heathrow, also using Boeing Triple Sevens, while Virgin Atlantic, the latest carrier on the route, has already increased its frequency from the initial four flights a week to a daily service, featuring A340s. Two other airlines operate direct services between London and Dubai en route to their final destinations: Royal Brunei Airlines maintains a daily frequency, while Biman Bangladesh Airlines has three departures a week. Both operate from Heathrow. Etihad Airways, which has 17 flights a week from either Heathrow or Gatwick to neighbouring Abu Dhabi, provides complimentary limousine transfers to Dubai for its premium passengers, and
a free coach service for those travelling in Economy. And Gulf Air offers a convenient link from Heathrow via Muscat (13 flights a week) or Bahrain (daily).

With a current annual throughput of more than 21 million passengers a year, Dubai International Airport is expecting that figure to have trebled by 2010. This year will see the completion of Terminal 3, Concourses 2 and 3 and the upgrade of the existing Terminal 2 as part of a major expansion programme.

And if that is not enough, plans have recently been announced for a US$33 billion investment in a giant new airport complex at Jebel Ali, which is set to become the world's biggest airport city, occupying an area of 140km2 (54 miles2). With six runways and the capability of handling up to 120 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo a year, the new airport will have a total capacity equal to that currently of Chicago O'Hare and London Heathrow combined.